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Halibut with Asparagus, English Peas, and Grapefruit|Weston Table

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Halibut with Asparagus, English Peas, and Grapefruit

This dish is dressed to impress and an ideal spring meal to serve to special guests. The best part is that the entire meal can be made and cooked in under thirty minutes (this time can be cut down by prepping the sauce and the vegetables ahead of time). Like spring, it has vibrant green color and soft pastel pink hues--a bit like sunrises on the east coast just after the Spring Equinox. It is so special that it makes a wonderful Mother's Day brunch, bridal lunch, or garden party dish. Halibut season in the USA starts May 1, and this recipe showcases it exquisitely. Gently poached in water and butter and placed in a sauce made with an unexpected citrus, grapefruit, this plate is dressed for a party but easy enough for a weeknight healthy dinner.

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cuisine American
difficulty Easy
season Spring & Summer
serves 4

Ingredients for the Fish

  • 4 halibut fillets (6 to 8 ounces each), skin removed
  • 1 grapefruit, cut into segments, pith & membrane removed
  • 8 spears white asparagus
  • 1/2 cup frozen petite peas, thawed
  • Tiny mint leaves
  • Pink Himalayan salt

Ingredients for the Sauce

  • 2 ruby red grapefruits, juiced
  • 2 tablespoons rice wine vinegar 
  • 1 egg yolk
  •  1/4 teaspoon sea salt
  • 1/4 teaspoon pure vanilla extract 

Directions

  1. Put the grapefruit juice, vinegar, egg yolk, salt and vanilla into a blender. Blend on high speed until fully emulsified.
  2. Heat one tablespoon butter in a 12" skillet over medium low heat. Add 1/4 cup water to the butter and stir.
  3. Bring a pot of water to a boil. Add the Asparagus and cook for 2 minutes. Remove and submerge in an ice bath. Repeat with the sugar snap and English peas. Drain and reserve.
  4. Cook 3 to 4 minutes on one side, carefully flip the fish, add 1 additional tablespoon butter, and cook another 3 to 4 minutes (or until the fish is fully cooked at its center).
  5. While the fish is poaching, pour 1/4 cup of the sauce into the bowl of each of four pasta plates.
  6. Gently lift one filet at a time from the skillet and put on top of the sauce.
  7. Add 2 tablespoons of the peas and two grapefruit segments around the fish.
  8. Top the fish with two sugar snap peas and a tiny fresh mint sprig. Lay the asparagus on the rim the plate.
  9. Sprinkle the fish and the asparagus with the pink salt. Serve immediately.

Kitchen Notes

lf you have yet to try pink himalayan salt, this is a wonderful jumping off point. Besides its health benefits, its blush hue is gorgeous when sprinkled over fish. The asparagus and peas may be blanched in advance. The sauce may be made 4 hours in advance and refrigerated. Simply whir again in the blender just as you begin cooking to insure it is well combined and bring it up to room temperature before pouring into the bowls. Extra sauce may be refrigerated for another day and used as salad dressing or over roasted vegetables.
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